A brief look under the cap

In the last couple of days I have gathered 3 species of tasty wild mushrooms. I shop in the woods! They are all quite distinct from one another and represent 3 different groups that can be easily recognized by looking under their caps. (Remember to double click on photos for an enlarged view.)

The spores of king boletes (and all the other boletes) are held by a sponge layer of densely-packed tubules on the bottom of the cap. See bottom photo.

Many of the familiar, commercially-raised mushrooms (seen at the grocery store) have a spore-bearing, gill structure on the bottom of the cap. Chanterelles, the upper two mushrooms in the top photo, are a type of gilled mushroom, although their gills are thicker and and shallower than those seen in store-bought mushrooms.

The bottom two mushrooms in the top photo are nearly the same color and texture as chanterelles, and are found in similar habitats, however they are hedgehog mushrooms. A look under their cap reveals downward-pointing, spore-bearing spines or teeth. This group is called teeth fungi.

Please don't think that this is anywhere near enough information to enable you to pick and eat wild mushrooms. Be sure you really know the identity of any wild mushroom before eating it. There are lots of guide books and other resources out there that can help.

On foraging

Last Sunday, after the rain stopped, I set out searching for some of the riches that the rain provides, that is, I went hunting for edible mushrooms. After hiking around in the woods for a couple of hours, I was quite satisfied to come home with about 3 pounds of chanterelles, and 4 king boletes. On my hike, I saw and heard many flocks of Canada geese as they flew south, high above me.

Because wild huckleberries are ripe now as well, I filled a small bag with berries that I picked along the mushroom trail.

However, in both cases, the best pickings were in my own yard. When I returned home from my foraging trip, I found a lovely king bolete, in nearly perfect condition, under one of our trees. For several years, I have been spreading the spore sponges of the king boletes that I bring home under our trees. And am always happy to reap what I have sowed.

We have many wild huckleberry plants growing in our yard, and we plan to pick them this week. It's a great season for eating wild things along the Oregon coast.

Putting food by

In case you think that we exist on salmon and mushrooms out here, the fall is a busy food season. We've been busy dehydrating apple chips and tomatoes. This year our freezer is getting stocked with oven-roasted marinara sauce. And the local Dungeness crab are calling us.

Before and after

The blue cast and my broken wrist are gone. I'm back to gathering bolete mushrooms. I especially enjoy having a thumb that works again.